Israel pauses further sanctions on New Zealand 'until further notice'HENRY COOKEDecember 28 2016

The UN Security Council, which voted on Saturday to condemn Israel's settlements on on occupied Palestinian land.

Israel's ambassador to New Zealand Itzhak Gerberg will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to discuss whether further sanctions against NZ are appropriate.

The Israeli government has already withdrawn its ambassador and barred New Zealand's ambassador from Israel.

Israel's embassy said "until further notice" no more sanctions would be imposed against New Zealand.

This news came after reports of a bitter phone call between the Israeli leader and New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully where Netanyahu said NZ's actions amounted to a "declaration of war".

READ MORE: Israeli ambassador to NZ recalled after UN vote

"My ambassador has just arrived in Israel today. He will have a meeting with the Prime Minister tomorrow, so until further notice there are no further sanctions," said Patricia Deen, spokeswoman for the Israeli embassy in Wellington.

Israel withdrew its ambassador from New Zealand and barred our ambassador from their country after New Zealand co-sponsored a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israel on Christmas Eve.

The UN Security Council resolution called for Israel to stop building settlements on occupied Palestinian land. It was picked up and sponsored by New Zealand and three other countries after US President-Elect Donald Trump reportedly pressured Egypt into dropping it.

The resolution was passed on Saturday after the US abstained instead of vetoing, as they historically have done on votes concerning Israel.

Netanyahu personally phoned Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully before the vote, his office has confirmed.

Israeli publication Haaretz, citing unnamed western diplomats, described a "harsh" phone call between the pair.

"This is a scandalous decision. I'm asking that you not support it and not promote it," Netanyahu reportedly told McCully.

"If you continue to promote this resolution from our point of view it will be a declaration of war. It will rupture the relations and there will be consequences."

McCully reportedly refused to back down, according to Haaretz, telling Netanyahu the resolution was consistent with New Zealand policy on the dispute.

McCully's office refused to publicly comment on the content of the conversation.

Deen said the phone call had been "blown out of proportion" but didn't want to comment on it in detail.

Earlier this week, McCully publicly said that Israel shouldn't be surprised by New Zealand's position.

"We have been very open about our view that the [security council] should be doing more to support the Middle East peace process and the position we adopted today is totally in line with our long established policy on the Palestinian question," he said in a statement.

New Zealand has used its time on the Security Council to consistently call for a halt to settlements.

Its two-year term as a non-permanent member ends this month.

New Zealand was the only western nation to co-sponsor the resolution, joining Malaysia, Senegal, and Venezuela.

The Security Council passed the resolution 14-0, with the United States abstaining.

Netanyahu is furious with the decision. He has halted aid to Senegal and said "friends don't take friends to the Security Council".

In 2014, Israel was New Zealand's 55th largest two-way trading partner

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The insolence, the arrogance, the chtuzpah of this hateful Tribe of Rodents in Human Form. This pest-hole in the Middle East that would not last a week without American largesse, billions of grants squeezed out of American taxpayers. But their end, their pushiness is near - and the Vermin know it.

Israel’s upgraded ballistic missile shield became operational on Wednesday, in a “Star Wars”-like extension of its capabilities to outer space where incoming missiles can be safely destroyed. The Defense Ministry said the US-funded Arrow 3 system, jointly developed by state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries and US firm Boeing Co., was handed over the Israeli Air Force. The Arrow 3, together with the Arrow 2, which has been operational since 2000, would “significantly reduce the possibilities of ballistic missiles” hitting Israel, the ministry said. The Arrow 2 is designed to intercept projectiles high and low within the atmosphere. Arrow 3 missiles will fly into space, where their warheads detach to become “kamikaze” satellites that track and slam into their targets. (Reuters)

This is what the Americans are paying for to defend a pissholeThe cost of such shields is exorbitantThis means that they're only effective for the first few missiles, which can be dummiesIf only one hits Israel, it will become smaller than it was in 1964

The green light has been given for the construction of more than 560 housing units in three East Jerusalem settlements.

Officials say the permits had been suspended until the departure of Barack Obama, who had been critical of settlement building.

Palestinians have reacted angrily.

Hanan Ashrawi, an executive committee member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, told reporters: “By targeting specifically Jerusalem, they are making use of the statements during the Trump election campaign about recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and therefor legalising Israel’s illegal annexation of Jerusalem in order to expand its settlement activities in Jerusalem.”

Meanwhile, also under the spotlight is a bill being put forward by two pro-settlement MPs calling for the unilateral annexation of a large settlement in the West Bank, not far from Jerusalem, known as Ma’ale Adumim.

Germany and France have spoken out in strident terms against Israel’s plan to confiscate privately-owned Palestinian land by legalising settler outposts.“The confidence we had in the Israeli government’s commitment to the two-state solution has been profoundly shaken,” the German foreign ministry said on Wednesday (8 February).

Jewish settlers create illegal outposts under the protection of Israeli soldiers (Photo: Rosie Gabrielle)It said that those people in Germany who felt friendly toward Israel had been “disappointed” and urged it to restore its “credibility” by restating its promise to establish a future Palestinian state alongside Israel and to “underpin this with practical steps”.

It added that such a promise was also needed because members of the right-wing Israeli coalition had “openly called for the annexation of parts of the West Bank and are preparing bills to this end.”

The French foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, and its ambassador to Israel, Helene Le Gal, also spoke out.

"I call on Israel to respect its international obligations and rescind the [settler outpost] law,” Ayrault said, adding that it “could exacerbate tensions in the region.”

Le Gal said: “The international community is wondering if they should trust Israel when Israel is saying that [it] is ready for discussion with … the Palestinians, and to reach an agreement on the two-state solution.”

She said the fact that Israel planned to financially compensate the Palestinian landowners did not make it any better.

“If there is an agreement, of course, that these settlement blocs are within Israel, then of course there is no problem. But there is no discussion. It's only Israel who decides,” she said.

Israel on Tuesday passed a law to retroactively legalise 3,900 outposts.

Outposts, unlike settlements, are private initiatives by Jewish settler groups who pitch camp on Palestinian land protected by Israeli soldiers and claim it for their own on Biblical grounds.

In January, Israel also announced plans to build 6,000 new official settler homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank in a decision that equally flouted international law and drew foreign rebukes.

A European diplomatic source told EUobserver that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been emboldened by the election of Donald Trump, a pro-Israeli hawk, in the US and that he was also using the settlement controversy to distract media attention from a corruption affair that could see him lose power.

The US has stayed silent on his actions.

New German attitudeFrance is an outspoken critic of Israel and previously warned that it would unilaterally recognise Palestine if it lost faith in the peace process.

The strong statement by Germany, which has in the past shied away from criticising Israel due, in part, to Germany’s Holocaust-era complex, was a new development, however.

The UK, which has been trying to curry favour with Trump, and the Czech Republic, formerly a staunch Israeli ally, also attacked the outpost law.

The legalisation “damages Israel's standing with its international partners”, Tobias Ellwood, British minister for the Middle East said.

The EU foreign service was the first to react, already on Tuesday, saying that the outpost law “entrenched … a one-state reality”.

EU foreign relations chief Federica Mogherini had planned to hold a summit with Netanyahu on 28 February, but EU foreign ministers, meeting in Brussels on Monday quietly decided to postpone the initiative due to the earlier announcement on the 6,000 settler homes.

Speaking to EUobserver in an interview over the weekend, Saeb Erekat, the secretary general of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, said the EU’s verbal rebukes had little meaning unless they were backed up by sanctions, such as banning exports of settler products.“Lack of accountability, impunity, is what provides the Israeli government with enough confidence to move ahead with its plan to bury the prospects of the two-state solution,” he said.

“The Netanyahu administration knows that no action will be taken,” he said.

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It seems the Holy Hoax Lie is not working any more with the Germans. They are waking up to the Vermin with their chutzpah, their arrogance, their vile methods.But, as I said in London, they are now in discendente, reviled by all the world - and even Boobus Americanus is slowly abandoning Them.

Israel approves first new West Bank settlement in 20 yearsIsrael has approved the building of the first new settlement on the occupied West Bank in more than two decades

Israel's security cabinet on Thursday approved the building of the first new settlement in the occupied West Bank in two decades, even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu negotiates with Washington on a possible curb on settlement activity.The unanimous vote in favor of construction of the new settlement in an area called Emek Shilo came after Netanyahu earlier told reporters: "I made a promise that we would establish a new settlement ... We will keep it today."Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been simultaneously negotiating with the US government on reducing settlement activity.A new settlement would be the first built in the West Banksince 1999. Palestinian officials have condemned the move.

"Today's announcement once again proves that Israel is more committed to appeasing its illegal settler population than to abiding by the requirements for stability and a just peace," Hanan Ashrawi, an executive committee member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.

Such settlements, in territory that Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war, are deemed illegal by most of the world. Israel cites biblical, historical and political links to the land, as well as security interests, to defend its actions.The administration of US President Donald Trump has yet to comment on the Israeli vote....

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The Rodents in Human Form cannot be trusted - they will use any occasion to grab more territory or attack their neighbours. This time it's the change of Govt in the USA. The Vermin have no right at all to Israel - most Jews are Khazars, with no history to the ME.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cancelled talks with Germany's visiting foreign minister, snubbing Sigmar Gabriel over his decision to meet groups critical of Israel's treatment of Palestinians.The dispute threatened to widen a rift between Israel and Germany over the Palestinian issue. Berlin has been increasingly critical of the settlement policies of Netanyahu's right-wing government in territory Palestinians seek for a state."The meeting is cancelled," said David Keyes, a Netanyahu spokesman."Imagine if foreign diplomats visiting the United States or Britain met with NGOs that call American or British soldiers war criminals. Leaders of those countries would surely not accept this."On Monday, an Israeli official had said Netanyahu, who is also foreign minister, would not see Gabriel if he went ahead with meeting the Israeli group "Breaking the Silence".The organisation, a frequent target of criticism by the Israeli government, collects testimony from Israeli veterans about the military's treatment of Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.Gabriel said before the cancellation was announced that it would be "a remarkable event, to put it mildly", if Netanyahu called off their meeting.Speaking later during a meeting with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, Gabriel said: "You can absolutely be sure we are committed to the friendship, the partnership and the special relationship with Israel and nothing will change this."Keyes played down the impact of the the spat, saying: "Our relations with Germany are very important and will not be affected by this."CLOSE ALLYGermany sees itself as one of Israel's closest allies and the cooperation and trade links are extensive. The legacy of the Nazi-era Holocaust, in which six million Jews were killed during World War Two, means ties are highly charged.Gabriel said it was normal to talk to civil society representatives in Israel, a view that drew expressions of support from Israeli opposition leaders."Imagine if the Israeli prime minister ... came to Germany and wanted to meet people critical of the government and we said that is not possible ... that would be unthinkable," Gabriel told Germany's ZDF television.A spokesman for Breaking the Silence declined to comment on Netanyahu's decision to snub Gabriel, or on the details of its planned meeting with the German minister, which the Peace Now movement said it would also attend along with the B'Tselem rights group.Roderich Kiesewetter, a lawmaker from German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party, told Die Welt newspaper the Israeli leader had "made a mistake" in shunning Gabriel, "a good friend of Israel".In February, Netanyahu ordered the reprimand of the Belgian ambassador after Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel met with representatives of Breaking the Silence and B'Tselem during his visit to the region.Right-wing Israeli politicians accuse the groups of damaging Israel's reputation abroad and putting Israeli soldiers and officials at risk of prosecution. They dislike the fact that some NGOs receive funds from EU countries.Gabriel, a Social Democrat who has spoken publicly about his rift with his late father, a convinced Nazi, is visiting the Middle East to press for a two-state solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.Germany in March cancelled an annual meeting of German and Israeli leaders planned for May amid rising frustration in Berlin with settlement activity in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.In 2016, Israel passed a law requiring non-government organizations that receive more than half their funding from foreign governments or bodies to provide details of their donations. The legislation was largely seen as targeting left-wing organisations such as Breaking the Silence and B'tselem, and it drew international criticism.

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The arrogance and ingratitude of the Jews - these Rodents in Human Form. Germany that gave them millions, billions of euros in reparation of a Hoax - the 6 million gassed and cremated Rodents. Germany, that supplied them with submarines that carry nuclear warheads - they could lie silent for weeks off Italy's West Coast and destroy most of our European cities: Rome, Vienna, Paris...

Such vessels could lie in wait off Iran's coast and provoke a nuclear war: blaming their friends, the Americans of course.These Vermin and their illegal Terrorist State - behind all Terrorism, anywhere in the world. The Mischief Makers - but everyone is leaving them and soon, even Boobus Americanus will tire of carrying the ugly dwarf on his shoulders.

Norway’s largest trade union body has voted in favor of economic, cultural, and academic boycott of Israel over its treatment of Palestinians. In response, Tel Aviv said that the union “placed itself shoulder to shoulder with the worst enemies of Israel.”The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) made the decision at the Congress on Friday, local media report. The Congress is the organization’s highest authority and holds its meetings every four years.

The Confederation should launch an effort “to achieve an international economic, cultural and academic boycott of Israel,” representatives at the gathering stated. It is not yet clear, however, how the proposed ban would be implemented.

The confederation went against the recommendations of its newly elected leader, Hans-Christian Gabrielsen, and voted 193 (some media report 197) to 117 in favor of boycotting Israel. Gabrielsen said that the decision would hurt Palestinian workers. “The situation for Palestinian workers is fragile. Many rely on work in Israel,” he said.

Jan Olav Andersen, a member of the LO editorial committee who voted for the boycott, said “enough is enough.”

“This year is the fiftieth year since Israel’s violation of international law of occupation [of Palestine]... And diplomacy has not made the situation better,” he said.

The LO has “a strong position in society and has set its stamp on society’s development for more than 100 years,” according to its website. The umbrella organization is affiliated with 24 unions with around 900,000 workers.

Israel betrayed White South Africa and voted with the Third World cabal for total sanctions. Now, the wheel has turned a full circle and The Rodents in Human Form are suffering the same fate. And unlike White South Africa, Israel is a bankrupt country, surviving solely through HolyHoax reparations and US largess.